Children's home run by Plymouth City Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 1 SC454900 Registered provider: Plymouth City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This registered children’s home operates as a short-break service and is run by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to six children who can stay overnight. In total there are 14 children on its register. It also provides evening and weekend care. All of the children have very complex needs, and require at least one-to- one care and support.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified registered manager is in place.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 December 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 12 October 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 2 12/10/2017 Full Good 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/09/2016 Full Good 10/12/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the safe handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home— the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Observation, monitoring or surveillance of children must not remove reasonable privacy, and should allow as much privacy as is possible, including in dressing, washing and using the toilet. A record must be kept of all observations in bedrooms to ensure that children are not subject to unnecessary invasions of their privacy. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 19, paragraph 3.36)

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from spending time in this short-break service. Care is provided by an experienced and qualified staff team. Support is individualised following discussion with professional stakeholders and parents. Introductions to the home are prudently considered and planned well to help children settle while they are away from home. Care plans are dynamic and provide the reader with sufficient information for them to understand the child’s needs. The support provided ensures a positive and productive stay for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have development targets to improve their independence skills. The short breaks provided also offer children opportunities to spend time with their peers outside of school time, making friends and being able to participate in a range of fun activities. Good use is made of community facilities. Children recently enjoyed riding on a magical Christmas-themed steam-train journey.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents and professionals alike are consistently positive about the care that is offered. Additional support and guidance provided for families alongside the short-breaks service have allowed some children who are on the edge of full-time care services to remain living with their parents. Staff have also provided guidance, and have supported parents with their children’s dietary, communication and behaviour-management needs.

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How well children and helped and protected

Staff understand the complex needs of the children they care for. Risks are well identified and managed by the staff. Staff are particularly skilled at interpreting behaviour as a communication method. This allows them to support children effectively, and avoid anxiety and subsequent behavioural problems.

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How well children and helped and protected

The staff’s understanding of the children’s needs contributes significantly to reducing risk, managing behaviour and ensuring that children feel safe and secure in this home. Parents reported that children look forward to spending time here.

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How well children and helped and protected

Staff are trained in managing difficult behaviour through the use of de-escalation techniques. There is very little use of physical intervention to manage behaviour. Any holds take place for the minimum amount of time possible, and are carried out in order to lead children away from immediate danger or protect others from difficult behaviour. Sanctions are only used following consideration of the child’s cognitive ability and their potential to learn from such measures.

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How well children and helped and protected

Children have not gone missing from this home. To protect the safety of these particular children, the main doors out into the community are kept locked. Children Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 5 can access an enclosed garden area, and frequently spend time with staff out in the community.

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How well children and helped and protected

Not all audio monitoring or observation of children during the night and early morning is subject to risk assessment and review. This could be unnecessarily impacting on children’s privacy.

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How well children and helped and protected

Arrangements for protecting children are embedded in safeguarding practice. Any concerns are passed to the appropriate authorities and dealt with appropriately. Staff understand safeguarding principles and the vulnerabilities of children who have learning disabilities.

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good

Monitoring and oversight carried out by leaders and managers have been ineffective in identifying a number of shortfalls. This includes errors in the medication records, omissions in fire safety checks and gaps in the frequency of formal supervision provided for staff. The manager acted immediately to address these shortfalls.

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good

The team is led by an experienced and qualified manager who has the confidence and respect of the team. She has an awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and a development plan is in place. The staff team is stable. The majority of the staff have a childcare qualification, and receive both essential and specific training to meet the needs of the children they care for.

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good

The children’s progress is measured and reviewed on a regular basis. Staff work in consultation with other professionals and parents. A parent said that attending the home had some massive benefits for her child, and added: ‘My child is more independent, personal hygiene has improved and they are more tolerant of spending time with peers’.

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good

Investment in the building and resources continues to improve the opportunities for children. This year has seen the installation of specialist play equipment in the garden. Plans to create a much-needed wet room are now established and agreed. The home provides a spacious environment with plenty of choice for children. Numerous signs and notices detract from efforts to make this a homely environment.

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good

Attention to equality and diversity is instrumental in the success of this short-breaks home. All of the children have additional needs, some of which are complex. The care and support provided are inclusive. Staff have a positive can-do attitude and high aspirations for the children. Staff understand children’s likes and dislikes, and enable them to make meaningful choices throughout their stays. Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Plymouth City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Plymouth City Council, Civic Centre, Armada Way, Plymouth PL1 2AA

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Inspector

Janice Hawtin: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC454900 8 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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